President Trump wishes Michael Flynn 'good luck' as disgraced national security adviser is set to be sentenced

By Denis Slattery

Dec 18, 2018 | 9:05 AM

Former Trump administration National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI about conversations he had with the then-Russian ambassador. (Carolyn Kaster / AP)

President Trump stood by Michael Flynn on Tuesday, wishing the fallen national security adviser “good luck” hours ahead of his sentencing for lying to the FBI.

“Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn,” Trump tweeted. “Will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign.”

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The retired Army general and Trump campaign surrogate pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador to the U.S. during the transition period between the 2016 presidential election and the following January when Trump took office.

He is set to be sentenced around 11 a.m. by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington.

Flynn, a constant presence on the campaign trail with Trump, served as national security adviser for a month before being fired for misleading Vice President Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. He accepted a plea deal last December.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing Russian election interference and possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, has asked the judge to spare Flynn from serving any time in jail. Mueller noted Flynn’s “substantial assistance” in ongoing investigations.

Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn. Will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign. There was no Collusion!

A pair of Flynn’s former business partners were charged Monday with trying to influence American politicians to seek the extradition of a Turkish cleric.

Trump has repeatedly railed against Mueller’s investigation, erroneously labeling it a “witch hunt” and a “hoax” run by prosecutors he sees as biased against him. The President and others in his orbit have continued to offer support for Flynn despite his cooperation with investigators.